Analyze the various IT based initiatives launched by FedEx to compete with the other players in its industry
Analyze the various IT based initiatives launched by FedEx to compete with the other players in its industry. How did the company gain competitive advantage through such initiatives?
IT based initiatives launched by FedEx to compete with the other players in its industry.
FedEx provides customers access to almost real-time information which has enabled new supply chain models and efficiencies. In 1978, Fred Smith was famously quoted as saying, “The information about the package is just as important as the package itself.”
This unprecedented access to information is connecting customers around the world to economic markets and communities.
FedEx actually provides two services to its customers: the physical transportation and distribution of packages, and the information systems that identify the location of a package at any time.
As the leader in the express transportation industry, FedEx was the first to install computers in vans, provide sophisticated automation in the mailroom and develop tracking capabilities and software. The company operates one of the world’s largest client/server networks.
Today, FedEx personnel carry hand-held computers that operate in real time, working with the company’s web services for almost instantaneous package tracking and delivery status.
FedEx has invested in a number of IT based initiatives that can take away the rigour of shipping and handling for many businesses e.g. shipping costs can be downloaded directly into the existing accounting softwares.
